the River Charles

9" x9" acrylic on panel- Charles river at sunrise- october

Day 13

arrived at LAX during a heatwave. Bastards charged me 25.00 to check one back, so on the way back, i'm just gonna carry both bags on. It will mean leaving a few pairs of shorts in L.A. but, i'll do it. Jenny can keep my shorts. The plane was a third empty. I got caught up at security. They went through my carry on. I had some books that were apparently too thick. Jenny picked me up and we went to the bar..the rancho. Love that place. there was no on there, but it was only 2pm, so not surprising. We played pool and listened to Lynyrd Synyrd until Red and his friend Mike showed up. Met a guy dressed in black wearing a cowboy hat. Someone made a Johnny Cash comparison, which the guy dressed in black didn't get. You'd think a dude in a black overcoat and a cowboy hat during a heat wave, would be all about johnny. which got Red going off again on how upsetting it was to see itty bitty Joaquin Phoenix play a mammoth like Cash. Red's friend Mike, however, loves Joaquin Phoenix in a serious fashion, feels they have a kinship of some sort. So, Red and Mike argued about that for a while. Mike says Red should also feel a kinship with Jaoquin, on account of them both having a hare lip. Except Red doesn't have a Hare lip. He's got a thin, little itty bitty scar, less than a quater of an inch in length on his upper lip, which you can only see when he's clean shaven, which he hasn't been for more than 5 hours a day since we were 13. He's been sporting a full beard since freshman year in high school. Except when he went through that weird mutton chop phase. I liked the mutton chop phase, It takes some something to pull off having those bad boys. Anyways, Red does not have a hare lip. His mother told him that's what it was.. Scott calls it "Red's imaginary hare lip" Even Red's own father has told him, he never did have a hare lip. Red insists on believing his crazy mother and going around thinking he's got a hare lip. Which we all kinda play along with. Since really, what's the harm in it .

Day 12

Went to some galleries. overfed mel's dog by accident. also, he drank my starbucks red eye.Mel is not happy about the situation. It's good that I'm leaving.

Day 11

Went to Hooters again. Had a hamburger. There was a girl passed out under one of the booths. It took 20 minutes for the wait staff to get the girl out from under the table. Then we went to a strip club. They played a lot of Motley Crue.

Day 10

Went to Baltimore with Mel and Lauren. Started drinking early. Behaved moderately well, considering. Found the dead mouse in my car. I'm so very very happy.

Day 9

Drove 10 hours down to D.C. in my stinky car. Got stuck in traffic. When I finally got to Mel's, we went to Hooters. I've never been to Hooters. It wasn't nearly as sleazy as I'd expected. You can imagine my disappointment.

Day 8

I have a new kitten that doesn't like to be picked up, held, cuddled or patted. It's pretty much useless as far as kittens go, since what else does a person want a kitten for, if not those exact things. It hardly seems worth the trouble of naming it. It's like having a surly little room mate.A surly little room mate, with no name.

Day 7

I'm going to be going out on the road again soon, so I've begun stocking up on mouth wash and talcum powder. Soon, I'll have enough. Then I can go.

Day 5

Got my hands on some seriously old frames. They're lovely. I need to paint something wonderful to go inside them.

Day 4

My car smells awful. I think another mouse has died in it. I need to find that mouse.

Day 3

I desperately want a pith helmet. . . more than anything else, in the whole wide world.

Day 2

I had a dream about gracie last night. That she told me that I can join the side show- but that I had to wear a frog costume- which looked exactly like a bear costume- except green. It zipped up in the front and the head was huge and heavy. Making it hard for me to keep my balance. Because when I say 'heavy' I'm talking forty, maybe forty-five pounds. She tells me- that i can't wear my clothes under the outfit, that i have to be naked inside the costume. I say- 'absolutely not- i'm not getting naked inside some skanky ol' green bear suit'. She gets so mad at me that she turns into a peach. A regular size peach. I eat the peach. And it's like the greatest most wonderful peach- ever!

Day 1

dreamnt I was pants shopping (I was shopping for pants, I was not pants that shop), then I was a blond elf running from flying grubs, who drop out of the clouds from web thread. I was running through the back yards of yellow row houses with long perfect green lawns, digging under fences and leaping furiously over whatever anyone could ever imagine to leave in their backyards. I was very fast and nimble. (in my real awake life- I am not very fast nor nimble.)Then a man built broad, like a truck, came out of his house in a terrycloth robe and cotton boxers. The hair on his legs was gray and sporadic. He had in his hand a thick wedge of greenish glass, like the bottom of a bottle. I was making good my escape, until he threw it like a skipping stone. It grazed the grass and caught me in the neck, embedding itself deep. I could feel it in the most vivid way – just as much as i’ve ever felt anything awake. I laid down on the side of a soft grassy hill and bled out ‘til the alarm went off.Still I woke up only mildly bothered. It wasn’t an entirely bad or unpleasant dream. It should have been, but it wasn’t. It felt oddly familiar and comforting.